Ethereum began 2026 with a mixed but revealing quarter. Usage hit new highs, while market value and fee revenue moved lower.

According to the Q1 report published by Token Terminal, monthly active users on Ethereum’s layer-1 averaged 13.2 million, up 53.5% from the prior quarter and 85.9% from a year earlier. Transactions reached 200.4 million, up 38% quarter over quarter, while throughput rose to 25.78 transactions per second.

The striking part is what happened to fees. Layer-1 transaction fees fell to $39.9 million, down 47.9% from the previous quarter and 81.9% year over year. The result shows Ethereum processing more activity at a lower total cost.

That is the core tension in the Ethereum Q1 2026 report: the network is scaling, but near-term fee capture is shrinking.

Monthly Active Users rose by 53.5% QoQ. Source: Token Terminal

Ethereum remains the leading chain for tokenized assets by market value. Tokenized asset market cap on the network averaged $203.4 billion in Q1, almost flat from the previous quarter but up 42.9% from a year earlier.

Stablecoins made up the bulk of that total at $178.9 billion. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC remained the two largest assets on the network, with Sky’s USDS, Ethena’s USDe, and Paypal’s PYUSD also among the major issuers.

Tokenized funds continued to grow, rising 4.9% quarter over quarter to $19.4 billion. The segment includes products from Sky, Ethena, Blackrock, Wisdomtree, Superstate, and Ondo.

Tokenized commodities were the fastest-growing category, jumping 60% from the prior quarter to $4.7 billion. The market is largely dominated by tokenized gold products, including Tether Gold and Paxos Gold.

Tokenized stocks remained smaller but gained traction, rising 16.5% to $365.1 million. Ondo Finance led the category with onchain exposure to equities and ETFs.

Ethereum also kept its lead in several core DeFi metrics. Ecosystem total value locked averaged $316.2 billion, down 11% from Q4 but up 22.8% year over year. Active loans stood at $21.8 billion, while ecosystem fees reached $2 billion.

Tokenized assets hit $203.4B in Q1. Source: Token Terminal

Ethereum’s fully diluted market capitalization averaged $290 billion in Q1, down 30.3% from the prior quarter. Trading volume across decentralized exchanges also fell to $134.5 billion, a 24% quarterly decline.

Still, the network’s user base kept expanding. ETH holders reached 292.8 million, up 8.1% from the prior quarter and 24.9% from a year earlier. The staking ratio rose to 31%, showing more ETH committed to network security despite the price drawdown.

Several upgrades helped shape the quarter. The Fusaka upgrade cycle’s second Blob Parameters Only fork increased data capacity in January. ERC-8004 went live in February, creating a standard for AI-agent identity and reputation. The Ethereum Foundation also set its 2026 priorities around scaling, user experience, and hardening layer-1.

The data shows Ethereum is deliberately trading short-term fees for cheaper blockspace and long-term demand. With tokenized finance, stablecoins, and AI agents moving onchain, the report frames Ethereum less as a speculative network and more as settlement infrastructure for global finance.

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